Colombia Flagship Initiative Update: March - June 2024

In December 2022, Colombia was selected, along with three other countries, as one of the pilot countries to implement the Flagship Initiative. The Flagship initiative seeks to transform the way humanitarian action operates, placing affected populations back at the center of all efforts by adjusting response modalities and coordination mechanisms to respond to people’s expressed priorities, that are more people-centered, adaptable, and context-specific.

The initiative, in Colombia, aims to achieve solutions that effectively respond to the priorities as expressed by affected populations, including addressing protection risks, gender based violence, improving access to basic services, and enhancing sustainable livelihoods. It also aims to contribute to transformations that would lead to reducing needs and dependence of affected people on humanitarian action as well as shifting the balance of humanitarian response towards more local action. The initiative represents an opportunity to capitalize on the large territorial presence of the Humanitarian Country Team in all departments of the country and to leverage the capacities and assets found in the communities we work with.

Highlights

• Launch of the Community Priorities Response Plan (CPRP) 2024-25 for Colombia: In March 2024, the CPRP was jointly launched by the Colombia Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in an affected community in Putumayo. The plan, developed with substantial community participation, aims to reflect community-expressed priorities to enhance humanitarian planning and action, thereby increasing community ownership of humanitarian efforts. Read summary here.

• Establishment of the Colombia Humanitarian Fund: As a country-specific chapter of the newly launched Regional Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean, the fund will support life-saving efforts and enhance localization and the role of local humanitarian actors in the response. Sweden, BHA, ECHO, and Spain have pledged contributions, with the first disbursements already in effect. A first allocation is planned for July 2024.

• New Humanitarian Coordination Team for Magdalena Medio: Responding to escalating conflict dynamics in the area and the HCT’s focus on strengthening subnational coordination mechanisms, a new humanitarian team was established to monitor and coordinate response efforts, ensuring that coordination efforts are proximate to affected communities. Colombia now benefits from 16 humanitarian or local coordination teams at a decentralized level coordinating the response of 143 humanitarian organizations operating across the country.

• Integrated Diagnoses for Flagship Departments: The three departments selected under the flagship to promote area-based integrated planning across the humanitarian, development, peace, and climate/environment nexus have completed their integrated diagnoses. These analyses comprehensively consider the context and opportunities within each department and will inform the development of common outcome plans.

• Innovation Labs for Buenaventura and Guaviare: These labs were designed to develop new prototypes of interventions that address the root causes of humanitarian issues through innovative programming. Proposal development, partnership and fundraising efforts are underway to implement these initiatives with an action-learning approach for necessary adjustments. Follow-up on the prototypes proposed in the workshops for La Guajira is ongoing.

• Localization strategy: A workshop was organized to consult and develop the first Colombia HCT Localization Strategy. Thirty representatives from 17 local and national NGOs participated in the event, supported by Project Hope with ECHO funding. The feedback was instrumental in shaping the HCT localization strategy, which covered basics on localization, the international and national humanitarian system, and risk management. The strategy has been finalized and is pending HCT approval.

• Progress in OCHA and GIFFM Synergies: Joint OCHA/GIFFM coordination structures are being piloted in three departments in the Amazon/Orinoquia region. Plans for joint analysis and planning workshops related to annual planning cycles, and an agreement on adopting a unified information management system for both platforms. These efforts aim to enhance cooperation and cost efficiencies, reducing transaction costs for partners.

• Adaptation of Activity Monitoring Tools: The 345w system, which tracks humanitarian response activities across the country and publishes monthly reports, now includes metrics on the number of humanitarian activities that involved prior community consultation, adjustments made to align the response to community-expressed priorities, and active community involvement during implementation and follow-up.

• Development of the Colombia Flagship Initiative Workplan for 2024-25: This plan, endorsed by the HCT, will guide the implementation efforts of the Flagship initiative through the remainder of its pilot phase. Read here.